The WiFi performance of my broadband router (Belkin F5D7630) at home has become distinctly flaky recently. The connection doesn't get reported as being dropped but that is the effect, as web pages stop loading and pinging computers on the internet fails. Connections via LAN are still fine. I am unaware of anything in our set-up or environment that has changed and could cause this. It is the same for every device we connect to it, so we are pretty sure it is the router. It is operating in a locally clear section (ch 4) of the 2.4 GHz band but I have no means of detecting non-WiFi radio noise. It is over 6 years old, so if it is failing, it has done its time and I'm considering a replacement.

I'm thinking of a Netgear DGND3700v2 N600, as it meets all the criteria and it reviewed well (good WiFi performance) in a British computer mag that has a strong hardware slant. However, for just about every model of router, there seems to be a significant number of people on retailer and technical sites who have bad experiences. I can't work out whether router manufacturers produce a significant number of lemons or that users expect WiFi not to be attenuated by the likes of thick, reinforced concrete in their houses.

My trusty Netgear died on the day I was ringing them to renew my contract.. I asked them for HH3 to be sent as well..

on my netgear I was getting 10 meg down and reasonable wireless.. with the HH3 I am now getting 17.5 down and the wireless is excellent (even getting to my old dead spots with full connection).. it has all the bands including n.. and if you by one from then its £29.+ £7 P&P..

Well I've been using the netgear 3700 router for 9 months now without any issues at all and wifi coverage seems to be excellent in all rooms both upstairs and downstairs. It's a 1920's house with thick walls and i'm surprised its so good. In the bedroom furthest away from the router (and on a different level) I found that it required a netgear usb dongle to work properly. I already had a wireless n dongle from a competitor but this gave a very flaky performance. What I really like about this router are the two USB 3 ports - one at the back of the router and one on the front but hidden by a rubber flap. This means that you connect an external hard drive and a printer at the same time. The router was expensive but I keep finding that you get what you pay for.

The WiFi performance of my broadband router (Belkin F5D7630) at home has become distinctly flaky recently. The connection doesn't get reported as being dropped but that is the effect, as web pages stop loading and pinging computers on the internet fails. Connections via LAN are still fine.

I'm experiencing exactly the same symptoms. The router's modem shows the connection as fine, but it's almost like the DNS lookup just can't be arsed. Nothing on the internet resolves.

Had this Netgear DG834G V4 since 2008. Never had a problem. Then about a month ago I noticed the download speed had gone from 720k/sec to 2,100k/sec
The router is syncing at 23Mbps and it used to be 7.6Mbps.

I've been re-booting the router every day for a month, even tried flashing and restoring factory settings.

Am moving to a new pad and getting fibre, so have just stuck with it for now due to all the hardware being replaced anyway.

nordle, are you saying that you are getting 3 times the speed you used too? - If you are then it could be that the router can't cope with the increased speed - I have that issue going upto 10 meg, the routers wan would lock up 6.5 meg.

Ram wrote:nordle, are you saying that you are getting 3 times the speed you used too? - If you are then it could be that the router can't cope with the increased speed - I have that issue going upto 10 meg, the routers wan would lock up 6.5 meg.

Yes, there was a (roughly) 300% speed increase overnight.

In theory, the Netgear DG834G V4 router has a modem which is compatible with ADSL2+

I've also tried the latest (2010) firmware.

There was some third party firmware too, but in the end I decided to just stick it out.

When my Netgear 834GT failed I switched to a Billion BiPAC 7800N. While I've always been a Netgear fan I am three miles from the exchange and the Billion is supposed to be one of the best routers for long lines and the Netgear 3700 is reported to have drop out problems with anything less than perfect lines. I can not say if this is true for the Netgear but the Billion has been absolutely rock solid since I got it last November.

I bought a BT Business Hub off eBay for about £10. Infinitely better than the tripe my ISP issued to me, and better than the BT Home Hub I have.

I found lots of them brand new and boxed on eBay because I suppose people start subscribing to the service but don't want to change from their existing router - so they sell the free issue router. However, unless you actually have a business account with BT, you do have to do a minor hack because it is pre-programmed to connect with BT's business service. I hacked mine OK. It is all here :-

bt2700hgv.tripod.com/ir1002700HGV.htm

I don't like BT, but their hardware is good.

Unsolved mysteries of the Universe, No 13 :-
How many remakes of Anna Karenina does the World need?